Improved well-boeim appaeatdb



WILLIAMA SKIF'F, OF-GAMANCHE, IOWA.

Letters Patent No. 80,773, dated August 4, 18648.

lIMPROVED WELL-BORING APPARATUS.

dit dgehtli ruimt it in that dettati rtem mit mating gaat nf ite time.

To ALL WHOM 1T MAY conceals:

Be it known thatI, WILLIAM SKIF, of the ,town of Camanche, in the county of Clinton, State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Apparatus/for Boring and Drilling Wells; andI do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and'exact discrip'tion of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of 'reference marked thereon. l

The nature of my invention consists iu so constructing and arranging a machine, that the digging a well may be done by means of an auger arranged with adjustable extensible lips, operated bymeaus of au extensible shaft, whereby earth may be taken fromrunder a curbing or stone walhand removed from the well. It further consists in having attached to same machine a drilling-device, by which, when rock is found in digging a well, the auger is removed, and a drill attached and operated b'y the same power as the auger, thereby making a convenient and useful apparatus. I i

To enable others to fully understand my invention,A and to construct and use the same, I will describe its construction and operation. l' e In the drawings, the same letters refer to the-same parts of the-machine in the different drawings.

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the device.

Figure 2 represents a vertical section. I

Figure 3 represents a perspective view bf thedrum that operates the drill and hoists the auger.

Figure 4 represents the movable lip; a top view.

I construct an auger of cast or sheet metal, with sockets to receive the extension-lips, which are forced out by turning the shaft It, which turns on a centre; and the two pointsyas shown at R, iig. t into holes in the lip, and by turning the shaft the lip is changed from the position as shown atN, g. 4, to that of tlie dotted line in same figure, the point at it, fig, 4, remaining stationary in the line of the circumference of the auger. I construct a eone-shaped nut, as at o, iig. 2, which eonnes the shaft R, and also serves as the centre of the auger. To the shaft R, I attach extension-rods or shafts of wood, fastening them by means of a square socket apd a pin, as at H, figs. 1 and 2. i

I make the shaft Ginny desired length by multiplying these sections,joining them by means of square sockets, as at H. l

To operate this auger, construct a drum, m, with a square aperture through it for shaft G to pass'through. To relieve the friction in the up-anddown movement ofthe auger, I put in small friction-rollers in this aperture, as at Q, tig. 1. A To this drum m, I have sockets Jfor beams to attach horses to, as at B B, figs. 1 and 2. These sockets have this arrangement for ease of taking the apparatus apart. There is a. cap-piece, as at a a', and a stop, as at e,g. 1, andby having the beam c fitted to this socket, it will be held in its proper position without any bolts to fasten it, thus saving much time. Y l

To admit any small stone .into the auger, I construct a valve, hinged as at P, fig. 1, which, as the auger turns in the direction of the arrow, if it strikes a stone, the valve P will be forced up, and the stone come on the auger. I p i l v To hoist the auger out, I have a collar made fast to the shaft R, below the joint at H; then a loose ring 'with an eye 'and link, as at C2( -To this link I attach ,ya rope, and pass .it up over the friction-roller K, then around the drum vb as around a capstan, holding` rmly on to the rope, and by means of the leverF raise the supports of the drum b, so that the points L L will mesh into the mortise or apertures m m. Now, by turning the drum m, iig. 1, it, by means of the points L Inlgives-motion to lthe drum b, which winds up the rope over the friction-roller K,`thus raising theauge with its load to the surface; and' by bringing together the rests S S under the auger, it may rest on them, and be emptied in any convenient way. It will here be seen that by means of the adjustable lips N N, the auger, after being lled and the lips brought back to thc line of the circle of the auger, it will be lessrthanthe diameter of the excavation, and consequently, easily raised; and when I desire to lower the auger into the well, I raise the lever F. This allows theA supports E and D D to drop down', carrying with them the drum I), which is confined to D D by means of the collar h, iig. 2. This unmeshes the drum b fromm, and immediately the auger descends into the well. I regulate its descent by taking a turn with the rope J around some point to govern its speed. By having different-sized angers, any required-size well may be excavated. l y

When I have reached rock, and it is needful to drill for greater depth, I'change my device a little-and operate a drill as'follows: v

I remove the auger, and in its place put' the drill, as shown at Y, fig. 1. I use the same extension-shaft G and socket-joints H. To operate the drill, I have a collar firmly fastened to the shaft of drill, as at a, iig'. 1. To this collar I have a link to fasten the rope :c to. This rope I pass over a pulley or sheave in the end of the lever w, fig. l', then over the end of lever w to a pin for fastening it at 2:2, indicated by red lines, iig. 1. This lever w has a projection of met-a1 on the innerside that rests on the cam or inclined pieces on drum b, marked o n', and by means ofthe lever F putting the drum b in gear with drum m, the lever w is moved up and down, in consequence of the inclines v o thus communicating an up-and-down motion to the rope as, and it to` .thedrill Y. To hoist the drill out, I use thesame method as described to raise the auger.

For convenience in moving, I construct the frame in parts,`putting the same together so as to be easily taken down. i

For the convenience of sharpening the drill and changing the size to make different-sized holes, I make the drill in parts, having four bits which fit into the shaft a with a'dove-tail, and are rmly held in place by means of rings, z z. So, if I wish to sharpen the bits or change the size, I loosen the rings z z, and putin other bits of the desired size. I further make these bits with a curve, as shown in-g.' 5, to prevent becoming fast in any fissure in the rock. Also, the drill being with'fcur cutting-points, ithas to be turned only one-fourth around to complete tl1 `e circle.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The arrangement of the drums m .and b with the arms B B, points L L, and inclines v c', for purposes set forth.

`2. The arrangement-of the auger with the adjustable lips N N, with shaft B.,`all constructed as herein set forth.

" 3. vThe combination and arrangement of the drill Y, rope x, lever w, lever F, and inclines on drum 6, for

the purposes herein described. I A

WM. SKIFF.

Witnesses:

WM. W. SANnonN, V. MANVILLE. 

